[meteorite-list] ET re Another fake name, serious business

From: Michael Fowler <mqfowler_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue Nov 16 20:07:10 2004
Message-ID: <F881CC60-3834-11D9-BCF2-000A95BC9D50_at_mac.com>

I'm with Mike Farmer on this.

First, to lay out the issues without any name calling is NOT
mudslinging.

Second, think of the following analogy. I rob a bank and get caught
red handed. Someone contacts me privately and offers me a chance to
return the money and my identity will never be revealed to the public.
Do you think the public's interest is served?

If Mr. Thompson has a good explanation, I'm sure he will make it known
and each list member can make his own evaluation.

Meantime I think this is a very serious business. I've invested many
thousands of dollars in my meteorite collection. How am I to know if
what I paid for is what I'm told it is? It is based on trust. If
various dealers are claiming to be selling material that they don't
have and maybe others are relying on "pairings" based on looks or an
opinion where does it end? This could be just the tip of the iceberg.

For example, I bought a piece of Lueders, a Silicated Iron. To me it
looks a lot like a piece of silicated campo, What's the difference,
they're both IAB Irons? Well, one is worth 5-10 times as much as the
other. Once trust in the sellers of meteorites breaks down, it would
call into question the value of all the rare material in our
collections!!

 From what I've heard so far, I'm not likely to ever take my chances on
a dealer who does not adhere to nomcom rules.
And equally unlikely to purchase from persons who ridicule attempts to
keep the selling of meteorites from descending into an
bottomless pit of unverifiable pairings and unauthorized number
piggybacking.

My 2 cents.

Mike Fowler
Chicago

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Michael Blood wrote:

         The issue I made is NOT who is right or wrong.
         If you were to post a very similar announcement,
saying you had addressed this issue with ET and was told to take a
long walk off a short pier and he didn't care what you thought
about what he was doing and you think collectors should be
aware this is going on - THAT WOULD BE A TOTALLY DIFFERENT
situation.
         Instead, you FIRST publicly chastise him. Whatever
is going on - that is a poor start at ANY attempt for remedy,
regardless of the circumstances involved. You don't know
what is take on the situation is - you haven't even addressed
the issue with him. MAYBE there is a good explanation - MAYBE
there isn't. MAYBE he looked at it one way and will change his
perspective once he hears what you have to say - MAYBE he
won't.... we don't know, because YOU HAVEN'T TALKED TO HIM
ABOUT IT.
         There are a good many of us who will be far more
interested in ANY issue you have with any other dealer IF you
report civil attempts to resolve the issue on your part met
with a lack of cooperation on their part.
         THEN I start wondering what is going on. Then I start
listening to the content. However, when it is a one way mud
throwing event, all I see is mud throwing - the content is
unimportant to me if the process isn't clean.
         Other than that, thanks for a relatively civil response on
your part.
         Sincerely, Michael

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Received on Tue 16 Nov 2004 08:06:54 PM PST